Pulp International - Nine vintage issues of Crime Does Not Pay

Warning: session_start(): Cannot start session when headers already sent in /home/public/index.php on line 6

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/protected/db.php:12) in /home/public/index.php on line 32

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/protected/db.php:12) in /home/public/index.php on line 35
Pulp International - Nine vintage issues of Crime Does Not Pay

Vintage Pulp

Aug 29 2011

Crime doesn’t pay? Since when?

Above is a cover of Leverett Gleason’s Crime Does Not Pay, a classic comic book—unaffiliated with Myron Fass’s publication of the same name—that launched in 1942. The comic was nominally aimed at adults, however kids bought it in droves, and parental fears about youngsters reading the violent publication helped bring about the formation in 1954 of the Comics Code Authority. Under the baleful eye of CCA censors, Crime Does Not Pay lost its edge, quickly followed by its popularity, leading to its shuttering in 1955. However it remains highly collectible today, with asking prices ranging from $30.00 to $200.00. The cover art is by Bob Fujitani, who illustrated countless comics during a career that began in the early 1940s. The example above and those below are all circa 1950 and 1951.

Comics Code Authority Crime Does Not Pay Leverett Gleason Bob Fujitani Myron Fass comic art

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1943—First LSD Trip Takes Place

Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann, while working at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, accidentally absorbs lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD, and thus discovers its psychedelic properties. He had first synthesized the substance five years earlier but hadn't been aware of its effects. He goes on to write scores of articles and books about his creation.

1912—The Titanic Sinks

Two and a half hours after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage, the British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks, dragging 1,517 people to their deaths. The number of dead amount to more than fifty percent of the passengers, due mainly to the fact the liner was not equipped with enough lifeboats.

1947—Robinson Breaks Color Line

African-American baseball player Jackie Robinson officially breaks Major League Baseball's color line when he debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Several dark skinned men had played professional baseball around the beginning of the twentieth century, but Robinson was the first to overcome the official segregation policy called—ironically, in retrospect—the "gentleman's agreement".

1935—Dust Storm Strikes U.S.

Exacerbated by a long drought combined with poor soil conservation techniques that caused excessive soil erosion on farmlands, a huge dust storm known as Black Sunday rages across Texas, Oklahoma, and several other states, literally turning day to night and redistributing an estimated 300,000 tons of topsoil.

It's easy. We have an uploader that makes it a snap. Use it to submit your art, text, header, and subhead. Your post can be funny, serious, or anything in between, as long as it's vintage pulp. You'll get a byline and experience the fleeting pride of free authorship. We'll edit your post for typos, but the rest is up to you. Click here to give us your best shot.

Pulp art from around the web

Things you'd love to buy but can't anymore